If anyone’s waiting on my exceptionally boring and lengthy treatise on Liverpool’s Capital of Culture year you need to wait a few days longer, if that’s possible.

Until then here’s a reminder of the very last event of Liverpool’s Captial of Culture year – the hand-over to Vilnius/Linz comprising a wide array of cultural events and spectacles this coming Saturday (10 January 2009).

The not-actually-finished Pierhead hosts the kick-off, projecting a video onto the not-quite-finished Museum of Liverpool and a lantern parade to launch the extended Leeds-Liverpool canal link.

Following on from that is the Light Night, with the city’s cultural destination throwing their doors open til late. Make the most of it – that’s your lot!

In the meantime check out the blog’s Capital of Culture round-up of the year.

Liverpool is to say a special thank-you for everyone’s support throughout its year as the UK’s European Capital of Culture 2008.

Cultural venues across the city centre are throwing open their doors late into the evening as part of a special Transition Light Night, in what will be one of the biggest free events in the Capital of Culture programme.

The cultural extravaganza on Saturday, 10th January 2009 – a year to the day the city officially launched its culture year – marks Liverpool’s transition from ’08 to its Year of the Environment.

The evening will kick-off with a spectacular ‘People’s Celebration’ along the Mersey waterfront and new-look Pier Head.

This free waterfront party will be a multi-media sound and light spectacle – the first event on the iconic World Heritage site since the extensive £100 million pound regeneration of the Pier Head public space.

Starting from 6.15pm, the celebration will include a filmic review of ’08 that uses the recently-clad, £70m Museum of Liverpool’s gigantic waterfront window as a 27 ft by 80ft cinema screen.  There will also be screens at the New Mersey Ferry terminal and at the ECHO Arena Liverpool on Kings Dock.

The event will involve artistic interludes such as a lantern installation of the new Leeds-Liverpool canal link, an arts and crafts market along the piazza at Mann Island and drum and dance performances.

There will also be ceremonial handovers to the cities of Linz and Vilnius, the European Capital’s of Culture ’09, and to representatives from London 2012 to mark the launch of Britain’s Cultural Olympiad, as well as a mass sing along of the anthemic ‘All Together Now’. The show concludes with a pyrotechnic finale fired from ships on the river.

The 7pm finale signals the start of Liverpool’s Transition Light Night with many of the city’s world renowned cultural facilities offering visitors and residents a unique and largely free late night experience.

The Merseyside Maritime Museum, Tate Liverpool, the Bluecoat, Open Eye, FACT, Liverpool Biennial, the Contemporary Urban Centre and The Flying Picket will all be open, and the city centre’s high quality range of restaurants, bars and clubs will be geared up and ready to receive the huge numbers expected in the city on this significant night.

Especially commissioned street theatre, music and dance performances will bring an extra buzz of excitement to the city’s public spaces, pedestrian and shopping zones.

• Venues participating in Liverpool ‘s  Transition Light Night (all events free unless otherwise stated): 

Tate Liverpool – The Fifth Floor: Ideas taking space – open all day until 10pm.

Merseyside Maritime Museum and International Slavery Museum – open through the day and closes at 10pm.

The Beatles Story – Special 2 for 1 offer. Last admission 8.30pm, open until 10pm.

Open Eye Gallery – David Goldblatt; Intersections Intersected – all day to 10pm.

The Bluecoat – Galleries open to 10pm, the building till 10.30pm.

FACT open until 11pm – DING>>D0NG: open until 9pm

Wolstenholme Projects – After the Curtain Falls exhibition – 7pm – 10.30pm

3345 Parr Street – Terry Cryer Exhibition – Open until 2am

The new Picket – FUSED – tomorrow’s people! 7pm – 10.30pm. 14+ gig

Leaf – Leaf Unplugged 7.30pm till late.

Contemporary Urban Centre – Family fun day – 11am-6pm. Music night from 7-11pm.